AddictedToScopex

10lbs is fine but dont forget plenty of side pressure if they do make a break for the stringy stuff!

Don't worry about it. Everone has to start somewhere and in angling it is always better to seek advice rather than cost yourself more money and catch less. You will find people on here to be very helpful. You will also find that being a beginner your will learn a lot very quickly. I am new to pole fishing compared to some but I have learnt an awful lot just by getting out there and doing it and asking for advice when i need it. I've been trying a lot recently to become a much more all round angler rather than specifically target one species or venue, for example i have recently taken up lure fishing and before that i took up pole fishing and before that tip rod fishing and the list goes on, it makes you better in other aspects of angling as many skills and watercrafts carry over to other styles and methods of fishing. I will usually be doing a different thing every weekend and its great. One week i may decide to go spinning on the canal and the next I will be using a tip rod on a river. Thats what i love about fishing. The variety and the options available. I hope you get the same enjoyment out of it now you have taken the plunge.

I felt as though I had found excalibur haha. Was so happy. The things we do for our fishing.

Well the big question really is what kind of fishing are you looking to do with it? I have two poles, one for silvers and a stronger stiffer one for carp. My carp pole which can be used for carp or silvers was very cheap at £50 brand new but it is fantastic and very strong. It has landed me many double figure carp and has a lot of bend to absorb lunges. It is rated to size 20 elastic i believe. It can be found at <<<<this site>>>>. The Leeda Triumphant Power Carp Pole at 10m. It really is a good pole for the money and is amazingly light for such a cheap pole. It is all carbon and comes already elasticated (i would remove the pre-installed elastic as i did and get a slightly heavier guage, your localn tackle shop can install it if you don't know how). Also go to your local tackle shop and get a universal set of top two's so you have two sets to switch between for different swims, cupping bait in or different elastic strengths. The man in the shop will help you a lot. Hope this helps. Many more people on here will know more than me about pole fishing as i have only been pole fishing for less than 12 months but found that carp pole to be an excellent beginners pole. Im sure you will agree if you try it. Also you will be amazed by the accuracy of pole fishing and the fish will very quickly start flooding in.

Why on earth would you have to have your line that high up to fish far from the water?????

Carp like any other fish absolutely love maggots. Ive had some very big carp using a maggot feeder and large maggot clip. I used the large clip to avoid catching tiddlers all day long. Maggots are just a deadly bait for almost all fish. Even sturgeon love them. p.s. your gear shouldnt be too light if your careful and set your clutch quite light. Maybe it was the delicate setup that gave the carp the confidence to come and take them.

I got it. What I thought would be around 2 foot deep actually turned out to be 3 feet deep! Some very wet boots and waterproof pants later and around 2 minutes searching the bottom with a landing net pole turned up a very silt covered pole section. Very happy now. The owner was more than happy to let me wade in and it was exactly where i thought. That will save me a fair bit of money. Happy days.

Lol thats true. I would have just thrown the net over it but my mate had borrowed my net to unhook a carp so couldnt just grab it and pull it back in. I just hesitated too long due to it never having happened to me before and watched it sink titanic style. Ive decided im going to ring the woman who runs it tonight and if she says no i will have to take towels with me on my next trip there and hop on in on the sly.

I thought to ask but even if she says no im not sure i can sit there knowing my section is two metres away from me in less than 2 feet of water. Plus the bottom is a fairly solid gravel/mud one. Im very respectful to people but it would cost a fair amount to replace the section. I think i will just ask as she knows me quite well having fished there for years. I will just have to pick a quiet night i think. Just wondered what other peoples views were and what they would do if it were their section in there.

Hi All, Just wondering what your views are on this dilemma. As you may have seen in another post i did on someone elses thread I recently lost a middle pole section to the not so deep farm pond I was fishing the other day due to wet and greasy hands when seperating to go home. My problem is that I don't know how to go about getting it back. Due to having plumbed the area where it went in I know it to only be around 1-2 feet deep and only around 2 metres from the bank. I know almost exactly where it will have come to rest on the bottom however Im not sure if the owner will let me wade in to retrieve it or whether i should just go ahead and do it if no permission is given. It is not a very busy place but has a nice head of fish and i wouldnt want to cause them any stress or harm but I also dont fancy shelling out for a new pole section when i know where the bugger is. I don't know what to do. Plus the owner does not ahve a little boat or anything.

It would certainly be interesting to see the reaction if they were added to the list. They should test the theory next april 1st to guage response as this way they can retract their decision when the 60% mentioned go into meltdown.

By the poorly chosen term 'mutant freak' I was referring to the way the breeders almost certainly engineer them to grow to much larger sizes much quicker whether this be by selective breeding or whatever other means rather than leaving them completely natural and not interfering which im sure is the way most true anglers would prefer their fish. But then if breeders were to sell fish that took too long to grow the 'have it now' brigade would have to put up with actually waiting for a fish to grow larger naturally over an extended period of time and i think they would rather move to a new water where the bigger fish are. It's all about the money when it comes to carping and it always will be as is the way with most things these days.

Ah i see. Will be taking a look at that. Cheers

I'm not entirely sure what to make of this one. If it was a well known 20lb barbel from a natural river for example im sure people on here would be far more inclined to say it was a sad loss of a great warrior etc etc etc. I think the reputation of carp has taken a beating and most stocked fish dont command much respect or admiration but from what i gather this wasnt some over stocked, overfed and over caught mutant freak of a carp so i think it is a shame to lose such a fish as no-one will have the pleasure of catching it again. I always admire the fish i catch no matter the species or size and would have been proud to say i caught this one. Everyone knows fishing on carp lakes is easier than rivers however you can still admire the fish itself if not the method of stocking, feeding or catching.

Well at the moment im using 15lb spiderwire camo braid (£24.99) with a Rovex John Wilson pike/lure rod (£40) rated for 10-15braid and a casting weight between 45 and 75 grammes but i use smaller than that a lot of the time. The reel i use is an abu black max low profile baitcaster(£35-£45). The rod is great as it is incredibly light and can be used for deadbaiting as well as spinning etc so you get two rods for the price of one really. You can find much cheaper reels and rods if this is too much and a 4000 front drag reel would suffice. Just remember to get a light one as you will be using it an awful lot and you do not want to have to keep stopping from sore wrists! The baitcaster are the best option if you want to get used to one. They just make things easier. A few more rods are here just to give you an idea of what is available. There are many more on that site: http://www.harrissportsmail.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=17227 http://www.harrissportsmail.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=17074 http://www.harrissportsmail.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=17075# p.s. to be honest i would steer clear of anything telescopic when it comes to fishing as they are generally not as good or strong as standard put together equipment and are far more prone to having problems and breaking.

It is more than possible as long as you have got the basics such as net etc already. Just need to get yourself to a tackle shop and get an average spinning rod for around 30quid and a reel for around 30. Then you just need a few spinners, i have been using ondex with great success, and some traces. Possibly some braid also for around 15 quid. Easily done if on a budget. Oh and don't forget the forceps!!!! Essential. I decided to tackle up for spinning not long ago and got sorted with quality tackle for around 100 pound mark. Harrissportsmail.co.uk is great for this kind of equipment.

Been reading up on the tickled trout stretch as for some reason i've never fished it. It does sound great but knowing the area quite well im hoping it isnt just full of drunks and chavs making noise and leaving litter. Thinking i might give it a go after the first rush of the new season. Are you allowed to night fish there?

Thanks but that stretch shown there is the opposite bank to what used to be the free stretch. I'm aware that it has been club controlled for some time but the other bank has been free for as long as i can remember. I used to fish it when i was very young with my dad and brothers. It's a shame it has been taken but if i can find out who got it i suppose i will have to start paying. Although im not happy about it. Wish i could find some more info but its just not there as far as i can see. Yeah will see what they say. Will have to try hard not to buy anything more while im in there though. Always so many tempting things.

Hey guys. I was just wondering if anyone knows who now runs the shawes arms stretch of the river ribble near the church deeps stretch. I had heard it was up for sale and then that someone had got it but don't know who. I was told by my local tackle shop that warrington angling association had it but can't find any info about it anywhere or anything on their website to say the had it. Im really wanting to go night fishing down there in the new season but don't have a clue who has it. Any help is much appreciated.

That place looks great. I Wish i knew of streams and rivers like that in/near Preston. The ribble doesnt look to weedy a lot of the time and many parts are either just stones or deeps near me.

Think yourself lucky my man. I was using my pole last night and it got too dark so started to pack up. It had been raining so the pole was wet and i had been using spam as bait in the margins for carp. Had had a good evening up until i tried to seperate my two middle sections and one flew out of my greasy wet hands and into the lake. P****d off? Oh yes.

Im so excited I can't wait. I have two days lined up off work to go and night fish the Ribble for barbel and carp. Payday on friday will see me buying a new shelter and a second greys barbel rod and then im ready to go.

No i dont mean bent right over anderoo i just mean when the very tip has just turned over a little. when you can only tell it has by running your finger up and over the point and you feel it catch on your skin.

Im glad i saw this thread too. Ive had loads of hooks get the tip bent over which is so annoying when you have just run out of that size of hook. It would be ideal to just sharpen the hook rather than re-rig use a larger or smaller hook when you don't want to. Might treat myself to one of these.

Wow and they say us young folks need to grow up. It's like a playground argument in some of these posts and everyone gets so riled up. Everyone has an opinion so why can't people just say "ok, that's fine but my views are this". I know we are mostly stubborn in our views of fishing practice but we are not kids. I fish carp waters when I cannot get onto the river because I cannot go a week without fishing. Im hopelessly addicted to wetting lines. And you know what I actually really enjoy it. It is a change from trudging down a river bank and it allows me to take my fiance without her getting bored waiting what could be all day for that one barbel that I would happily wait a week for. Plus it allows her to sit and learn and have a go herself with a quarry that may be easier to catch. I don't mind if someone disagree's with it. It's my choice to do that and when the river is closed Im sure as hell not sitting in my house polishing my reels for months. Live and let live i say and stop getting on each others backs for it. This is supposed to be a friendly forum and I dont think new comers want to read arguments about things that are so ridiculous. It would just drive them away from what is otherwise a fantastic place to come for advice and help. Come on guys chill out.